THE EDITORS RECOMMEND

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, October 4, 1998

Here are some new titles our critics regard highly:

A NIXON MAN, Michael Cahill (St. Martin's; 234 pages; $22.95): This laugh-out-loud funny and terribly sad coming- of-age novel set in 1974 San Francisco concerns an 11-year- old boy's search for the truth about his dad. As Nixon's secrets are revealed, so too are the father's.

THE SPIRITUAL TOURIST, Mick Brown (Bloomsbury USA; 309 pages; $24.95): While not exactly a true believer, British journalist Brown is more than a tourist, and his journey in search of the profound and mysterious is more a quest than a vacation. He returns from his visits with apparitions and avatars bearing a faith informed by doubt and a sense of wonder.

365 VIEWS OF MT. FUJI: Algorithms of the Floating World, Todd Shimoda, illustrated by L.J.C. Shimoda (Stone Bridge; 356 pages; $19.95): Like ukiyo-e, the Japanese art form that inspired it, Bay Area writer Shimoda's novel distills the beauty and indulgence of 18th century Japan, but his story of a man obsessed with women, whiskey and work is very postmodern.